With the exception of the reviews that are obviously from someone associated with Fairfield properties (reads like a salesman), I think the reviews here give an accurate description of Deer Crest.

I, like several of the older reviews, lived here several years under the old management when it was called Cedar Crest and thought it was one of the best properties I had lived in. Then Fairfield Properties (Deer Crest) took over.

The big difference between Deer Crest and Cedar Crest is the level of professionalism by the management. Cedar Crest would go out of its way to let you know what was going on. Deer Crest won't tell you much of anything. The following are just a couple of things that happened during my final two years at Deer Crest.

When Cedar Crest was getting the property ready to sell, they repainted the building. In their usual professional manner they sent out several notices saying what day the buildings would be painted. I knew what buildings were being painted and not to park near them. In contrast when Deer Crest (Fairfield) took over, they decided to repaint the buildings again. I guess they wanted a color change. They sent out one notice in May saying they would be painting, redoing the roofs, and adding water filters etc. That was the extent of the notice. In July they started painting my building. It was hard to park away from the painting because they would move on to a building then come back to a previous building. You never knew what was going on. It took three weeks of off and on painting to get my building done. The painters would wrap plastic around the cars close to the building. But I prefer just parking away from the building and not having people mess with my car or have to unwrap it to go somewhere.

In July they came into the apartments to put in water filters. The only notice was that one message in May. I happened to be home that day when they came a knocking. I took everything out from under my sinks so they could put in the filters. I went over to the office and complained about no notice. The manager said the notice was the one sent out in May. I said I did not consider that notice since it had no date. My neighbor told me everyone came home to find all their stuff set out from under the sinks on the floor.

They gave notice that they were going to change furnace filters and make "improvements" to the furnace. Turns out the "improvements" were blowing out the furnace. In the room with the furnace are the washer/dryer. When they got done everything was covered with a heavy coating of dust. Even some cloths I had in a basket on the shelf. It would have been nice to know what they were going to do so I could have gotten everything out of the closet so it wasn't covered with dust.

I could go on about half a dozen similar things occurred. The final straw for me was the one morning I opened the door to go to work and a notice fell on the floor saying they were going to enter the apartment that day. In typical Deer Crest style, it did not say what they were going to do. I had come home around 5PM the day before and there was no notice. I was in the middle of doing laundry and had clothes on the floor. To change furnace filters they need access to the laundry so I had to clean up the laundry. I went over to the office and explained the concept of 24 hours notice and that a notice put on my door after 5Pm is not 24 hours notice. I asked what they needed to do. She said it was filters. It turned out it wasn't to change the furnace filter. It was to make sure there were water filters in each apartment. I asked if that was so important that they couldn't give proper notice. I decided this was it and gave notice that I would not be renewing my lease. The manager called me up and said they could do better at letting people know what they were doing. I thought maybe they finally got someone managing the property that would start acting professional. But no, the next week they came around and painted half the stair way, again with no notice. It was November and rather chilly. Needless to say it took the paint days to dry. I had a large box I needed to get up to my apartment. I learned that it is impossible to get up stairs walking on half the step carrying a large box. I had to step on the paint which put brown footprints all over the landings. If I had known they were going to paint the steps, I would have brought the large box home some other day.

So, like others have said here, Deer Crest only cares about its property and not its tenets. It has no respect for personal privacy or personal property. If this type of thing is important to you, I would suggest looking elsewhere. If it isn't important to you, then Deer Crest is okay in other respects. I thought the property was well maintained.

Rent was always on the high side, but in my opinion it was worth it when it was Cedar Crest. I was willing to pay a little more to be treated professionally and left alone. I would agree with others, that Deer Crest charges too much for what they have to offer.

If you do take an apartment here, I would recommend getting an apartment away from the "Dog Walk", unless you are a sound sleeper. Dogs bark/growl at each other in the middle of the night. There are always some people who won't control their dogs and Deer Crest is no exception.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 11/04/2007
I lived at Deer Crest during the ownership change too. Fairfield is horrible!!! The staff is VERY unprofessional! And several of the things you have mentioned are clear violations of state law. In fact, I just sued a more recent landlord in small claims court and WON!!! You have rights... there are laws... and in some cases Colorado state law gives TRIPLE damages to plaintiffs who sue their landlord with solid evidence of misconduct... especially when it comes to getting your security deposit back in full. The filing fee is small too... I was awarded all court costs along with my FULL security deposit multiplied by 3!!!! The judge was more than happy to smack these arrogant morons down. Do what you need to do people. Research Colorado statutes regarding Landlord / Tenant laws. And DON'T RENT AT DEER CREST!!! Trust us.

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates